Passing the Torch
by Lipton Lee
Summary: Jess passes on a little something to the next generation. Future lit Ficlet


Disclaimer: Alice is mine. Everyone else's is ASP's. No money  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Summary: Jess passes on a little something to the next generation. Future Lit Ficlet  
  
Passing the Torch  
  
Alice Mariano wasn't really asleep. She was supposed to be but she wasn't. When she heard footsteps approach her new room (They'd moved in only a week prior), she flung her covers over herself and hid her book and flashlight under them. She closed her eyes tightly, and turned over.  
  
She heard her door open quietly, and stayed still.  
  
"Faker," said her father's amused voice.  
  
She opened her eight-year-old blue eyes and squinted up at him. "Dad?"  
  
He was wearing all black with a tool belt around his waist. "Up and at 'em."  
  
"Who's tool belt is that?" Alice asked, sitting up.  
  
"Your Uncle Luke's," he replied. "I'm borrowing it. Why? Does it make me look fat?"  
  
She snickered lightly. "Does he know you have it?"  
  
"He will when he notices it's gone."  
  
"What time is it?" she asked, swinging her legs over the side of her bed.  
  
"One fifteen am."  
  
She gave him a pained look, and he tossed her her black jeans and one of her black sweaters. "Get dressed," he told her, walking to the door. "We're going out."  
  
She shrugged and started getting dressed as he closed the door.  
  
*****  
  
Alice followed her father to the end of their street and over to the sign that read "Plum Street."  
  
"What are we doing?"  
  
"Making our presence known," he replied, absently. He took a screw driver out of his too belt and put it in reverse, beginning to remove the sign from its post.  
  
Alice smiled when her father handed her the sign. She understood. "Where does this one go?"  
  
Her father considered this before looking down at her. "How about B Street?"  
  
Alice Giggled.  
  
*****  
  
Rory Mariano woke up alone and glanced around. "Jess?" She got up and walked down the stairs of her home to find her husband and daughter, both dressed in black, sleeping soundly on the couch.  
  
She shook her head. "Welcome back to Stars Hollow, Jess. Hope it survives the experience." She kissed the top of his head, and then kissed Alice's forehead before going back up the stairs.  
  
******  
  
"I got lost on the way here, Taylor! Lost! The sign said Main Street, but it was actually Orange Street... or... Peach Street... I don't know!"  
  
The scene in Alice's Uncle Luke's diner the next morning was pure chaos. People were outraged by the sign shake-up. Kirk was frantic, almost in tears.  
  
It was kind of funny.  
  
"All right, we'll deal with this quickly," Taylor reassured the people around him. "I still don't see how all of our street signs could have switched around over nigh-"  
  
Alice was being stared at. Disturbingly stared at.  
  
She gave Taylor a bright innocent smile. One worthy of her mother's bright innocent smile from when she was eight.  
  
Taylor walked over and cleared his throat. "Jess."  
  
He looked up. "Morning, Taylor."  
  
"This whole sign situation stinks of you, Jess Mariano."  
  
Jess blinked and looked down at Alice. "I stink?"  
  
"Only when you cut the grass," she replied matter-of-factly.  
  
Rory hid her amusement behind her abnormally large coffee cup.  
  
Taylor glared harshly. "If I find out that you were behind all of this, you are in big trouble."  
  
"Noted," Jess replied, digging into his eggs.  
  
Taylor huffed and walked off just as a very bewildered Luke walked over to refill Rory's coffee.  
  
"What's wrong, Uncle Luke?" Alice asked.  
  
"I can't find my tools," he replied. "Coulda sworn I left them in the kitchen..."  
  
Alice giggled.  
  
Jess nudged his daughter playfully with an elbow.  
  
Rory sighed. "You are unbelievable."  
  
Luke look confused for a moment, but quickly caught on. "The signs."  
  
"It was all Ali's idea," Jess defended.  
  
Lule rolled his eyes. "An eight-year-old. Right."  
  
"Not just any eight-year-old," Jess replied. "My eight-year-old. I was just gonna hide them. She wanted to switch them around."  
  
Rory and Luke both gave a sideways glance to Alice, who blushed deeply.  
  
"I'm proud," Jess said.  
  
Rory shook her head at her husband. "You're such a bad influence."  
  
Jess shrugged and smirked. "Just passing the torch."  
  
END 


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